ERAU grad flies full circle as he takes to skies

DAYTONA BEACH -- When U.S. Air Force Maj. David Graham flies over the ocean today during the Embry-Riddle Wings and Waves Air Show, he says his life will have come full circle.

As a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the mid-1990s, he dreamed of returning to fly for his alma mater.

After flying air shows for the past three years for the U.S. Air Force, he finally will get that chance today as he rounds up his assignment on the F-16 Viper West Air Combat Command Demonstration Team where he is the sole pilot.

He'll have two more air shows to go and, then, will go to Alaska to train others for combat.

Graham, 34, will be one of close to 20 acts performing in the air show today and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. off the shoreline centered in front of the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort.

The free event returns over the ocean after a seven-year absence.

University officials hope the air show will draw more than 200,000 people over the two days and be a boost to the economy.

Graham, who graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering, is one of several alumni in the show. He's also a grad student working toward his master's degree at one of Embry-Riddle's World Wide centers at the Air Force base in Utah.

He's been in the Air Force for almost 13 years and started flying when he was 14 after his father took him to fly on a glider a year earlier.

While at Embry-Riddle, he said he'd watch air shows and think, "Wow, some day maybe" that could be him flying in a university show.

"Through a lot of luck and good timing, it happened," he said about flying in today's show.

Besides doing 25 air shows a year, he spends time during the week doing combat training and other duties. He also served in Iraq in 2002 and 2003.

He said air shows are a celebration of freedom and a way to inspire young people into the aviation profession. He will perform various maneuvers the Air Force uses in combat.

He said what he loves about flying is "the freedom of everything."

"Sometimes, I have to pinch myself because they actually pay me to do this," Graham said.

Capt. Eric Willrich, 35, with the Snowbirds Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, also will be finishing up his assignment with the Canadian Air Force after three years on the demonstration squadron performing 37 shows a year in the United States and Canada. He has been in the Canadian Air Force since he was 17 and will be on a new assignment flying transport planes.

Willrich is one of 11 Snowbirds pilots here for the show. Nine will perform, and Willrich and another pilot are the "eyes and ears," coordinating from the ground everything from the music to ensuring other planes don't interfere in the airspace and talking with the pilots. The team arrived last week after performing in California at another show.

Willrich and the team will finish the year with another show next weekend in Atlanta.

For Willrich, the show is also about inspiring young people and supporting all the troops who are "sacrificing their life and limbs overseas."

He said, "If we can make one kid smile (or encourage someone to get into aviation) our job is done."

Pilot Matt Chapman, 50, who has been flying in air shows for 27 years, will fly the Embry-Riddle-sponsored aerobatic plane. He's been representing the university in about 15 air shows a year across the U.S. for the past four years.

But being in the university's hometown, he said, will be an added bonus.

"It's fun to show the capabilities of the plane and fly the colors of the university," said Chapman, who flew for the U.S. Unlimited Men's Aerobatic Team and led the Men's Team to a Silver Medal in 1998 in the world championships.

With the thousands of people on the beach and students and alumni, he said, "I have to do them proud. I have to do it safely though."

While many of the pilots said there are challenges flying over water with no defined lines compared to air shows on a runway, some also said there are advantages of not worrying about buildings in a city or other mountain terrain.

Pilot Rob Holland, 36, of New Hampshire, who is flying the MX2 aerobatic aircraft, said he performs in eight air shows over the water out of 22 a year.

He said performing over water can be challenging dealing with depth perception and not having a safety net of a runway.

"It's always neat to see the big crowds and all the people watching on the (sand)," he added.